Hopper-bottom dump-car.



H. ZAHL. HOPPER BOTTOM DUMP CAR.

APPLICATION FILED SEPT. 30, 1911.

Lma gma, Patented Nov. 11, 1913.

2 SHEETS-SHEET 1.

J ATTORNEY H. ZAHL.

HOPPER BOTTOM DUMP CAR.

4 AP PLIGATION FILE; SEPT. 30, 1911. LUV8AYSQ 2 SHEETS-SHEET 2.

WITNESSES:

INVEHTOR ATTORNEY Patented Nov. 11, 1913.

. means whereby the doors are easily returned- UNITED STATES PATENT OFFICE. p

HJ'ALMAR ZAHL, OF DULUTH, MINNESOTA,

ASS IGNOR, BY DIRECT AND MESNE ASSIGN- MENTS, OF THREE-EIGHTHS TO CHARLES S. OLSON AND ONE-EIGHTH TO HENRY GUJER, BOTH OF DULUTH, MINNESOTA.

HOPPER-BOTTOM DUMP-CAR.

To all whom it may concern Beit known that I, I'IJALMAR Zann, a citizen of the' United States, residing at Duluth, in the county of St. Louis and State of Minnesota, have invented certain new and useful Improvements in Hopper-Bottom Dump-Cars, of which the following is. a specification, reference being had therein to t e accompanying drawing.

hop er-bottom dump cars.

T 6 object of my invention is to provide a car of'this character which will carry the maximum load and at the same time-having facilities whereby the load may. be discharged with the least effort, in the shortest possible time.

Another object of my invention is to provide a car of this character in which the load automatically dumps the carand provides 0 I My lnvention relates to improvements in to their closed position.

A still further object of my invention is to provide a car of this character having great longitudinal strength to withstand the heavy strains to which such cars are subjecte In the accompanying drawings forming @113 of the specification: Figure 1 is a side lergation of my improved car. Fig. 2 is a Fertical longitudinal sectional view of the chassis and hopper. Fig. 3 is 'a vertical transverse sectional view of the car. Fig.

4is a longitudinal sectional view of the door operating mechanism. Fig. 5 is a perspective view of the retaining dogot the door operating mechanism. Fig. 6 is a per spective.view of the cylindrical pawl cam of the door operating mechanism. Fig. 7 is a perspective view of the pawl.

1 represents the car chassis and 2 the angle iron superstructure which supports the hopper 3, the lower discharge termini are intermediate the two sets of car wheels and relatively near a level with the top of the railroad rails.

The chassis frame comprises the two side bars or angles 4, 4, and thccentral boxgirder 5, all of which extend the entire length of the car and form the main support thereof. The box-girder 5 is 'n'et'erably built up of the two channel bars 6, 6. they being spaced apart and covered by the Specification of Letters Patent.

Application filed September 30, 1911.

Patented Nov. 11, 1913.

Serial No. 652,219.

plate 7, which latter is surmounted within the limits of the hopper, by the two inclined plates 8, 8, which meet at their upper edges and form battles to assist in dischargloading.

The-channel bars 6, 6', are spaced apart not only to provide great strength, but for the drums 9, 9, 9, 9, which are revolubly mount-- ed therein and which will be more fully described later.-

The ends of the hopper 3 are preferablyuniformly inclined their entire length, the side walls 3' being vertical from the upper edge of the car body to the point 11 where the remaining portion of the side walls are pivotally suspended in anydes ired manner and forms the doors 12 of the hopper, their lowermost free ends being preferably operated by means of the chains 13 attaehed to said free ends and leading under the guide rollers 14 and over the operating drums 9 12' is formed integral with the lower edge of the doors 12 and project beyond the ends thereof and to which projection the operat ing chains 13 are attached, this. being a coning the door and providing the desired attachmcnt.

the outwardly bulged angle 12" therein to give greater capacity to the car and to pro- .;vide the propenlmtliing effectto the load when being discharged which must. occur between the limits ofthe railroad rails.

side girders 4 of the car when the door is fully opened which latter becomes a support to the door when in such position.

'from the verticalwalls 3 of the hopper by bolts 16 loosely connecting the angle bar -17 securely attached to the lower edge of thevertical. wa1l'3"and the angle bar 18 securely. attached to the upper edge of the door 12, thus a simple and durable hinged 'w'th angle bars as desired.

Within the housing 15', which is securely purpose of housing the door operating- The' doors 12 are preferabl, formed with This angle is also formed so as to-engage the The doors 12 are preferably suspended fastening is. provided. and the doors and side walls of the hopper may be. reinforced fixed upon the girder 5 and in line with theing the contents of the hopper when unto the operating mechanism 15. An-I-beain venient and practical means for reinforcrollers therein, "operates thedo'ngitiidinaf ratchet 19 extending through both'ends of the housing 15, the inner end 20 of which engagesthe door chains 13 and controls them. A retaining dog 21 is pivotally mounted within the walls'of the housing 15 and 'astride the ratchet 19 and is designed to normally engage the teeth of the ratchetand lock it, the free end 22 of the dog having formedtherein the vertically disposed elongated hole 23.

Within the diagonally opposite corner of the housing to that in which the dog 21 is mounted, is revolubly mounted the cylindrical pawl cam 24 pivotally carrying-the pawl '25 which engages and operates the ratchet 19 when the cam is rocked bymeans of the removable. hand lever 26 engaging either of the sockets 27 within the ends of the cam 24.

A projecting lug 28 is formed upon the free end of the awl25' and-pivotally engages a vertical lin 29which extends through the elongated opening or hole 23 in thedog 21 and pivotally connected at its upper end to the free end ofthe bell-crank lever 30 mounted upon the cross-shaft 311 within the walls of theshousi 15, this shaft being operated by'a suitab e short hand lever 32 for disengaging both pawl and dog from. the'ratchet when desired.

The operation of the device is as follows: The doors being open as shown in Fig. 3,

the cam 24's rocked back-and forth bythe.

- it is desired to open the hopper and dump contents of the hopper.

the load by allowingthe doors to fall, the. hand lever 32 is pressed down which will first raise the pawl 25and free it from engagementwith the ratchet 19, when a still furtherdepression of the lever 32 will liftand free the dog 21 by the pawl 25 engaging the underside of the free end 22 of the dog I and lifting it, when the ratchet will be instantly freed and the door allowed to fall by gravity, thus quickly discharging the Having thus described my invention, what-I claim is:

1. A hopper car comprising a central girder, extending the full length of the car,

two side girders extending the full length of the car in a horizontal linetherewith, a hopper supported'by the girders and having its that; extendin' a suitable distance below the 6 same and a ottom havin side 'ortions adapted to form a'portion o the si e of the car when the bottom is open. p

2. A hopper car comprising a supportin frame, a hopper supported by the frame an 7 having its ends extending considerably below the frame, a bottompiv'oted to the hop-- per above the su porting frame and having I a portion 'thereo adapted to form a portion -of-the"si'des of .the car when the bottom is 7 3. A par of the character described, comprising a hopper, hinged side walls formin' the bottom of the hopper, a rack-bar fiexibly connected to said hinged side walls, a 8 pawl engaging said rack, a dogengagmg the rack and holdingthe same, means for operating the pawl for moving the rack, and means tor-raising the. pawl and simultaneously raising the dog out of engagement 8 with the rac 4. A car of the character described coi iprising a hopper, hinged bottomisectionga rack-bar, a flexible connection between the hinged .bottom sections and" the rack-bar a 9 awl en a in the rack-bar a do en I ihe' rack bzr ind having oIie end exte iidihgj overthe awl and provided with an-opening,,a lin connected to the pawl andexv' tending through the opening in the extended. 9 end of: the dog, and means for '0 eratin said link whereby theraising of-the paw releases thedog.

5. A car of the character described, comprising a hopper, hinged bottom sections, 'a 1 rack bar, a flexible connection between the hinged bottom sections and'rack bar, an os-, cillating member, a. pawl carried by said oscillating member and engaging the rack bar, a dog engaging the rack bar and hav- 1 ing itsfree outer end extending above the free outer end of the pawl and providedwith an opening, a link pivotally connected to the free outer end of the pawl and extendin through the opening in. the dog and I a cran connected to the sald link whereby the upward movement of-the link releases the pawl from the rack and the-continued upward movement thereof raises the do' out ofengagement of the rack, b t yrt8 1 shown and described.

6.111 hopper car comprising a centralhol low girder and two side girders extending the full length of the car, a su erstructure" supported by the center and 81 e girders, a 1

hopper within the superstructure and extending between the'center andside girders, a portionof the sides of the hopper being loosely suspended and forming .the bottonr of the hopper, longitudinally and trans-"1 versely mounted rollers within the central hollow girder, chains connectedto' the .free

lower ends of the suspended side portions tom, and a )aWl and dog arranged to operate said rac (-bar for operating the hinged bottom.

8. A car of the character described, comprising a hopper, a hinged bottom for the hopper,'a rack bar connected to said hinged bottom, a pawl engaging said rack, a dog engaging the rack'and holding the same and said chains, substanmeans for simultaneously operating the dog and pawl for the purpose described.

9. Acar of the character described, comprising a hopper, a hinged bottom for the hopper, a rack bar flexibly connected to said hingedbottom, a pawl engaging said rack, a dog engaging the rack and holding the same, means for operating the pawl for moving the rack, and means for raising the pawl and simultaneously raising the dog out of engagement with the rack.

In testimony whereof I hereunto affix my signature in the presence of two witnesses. HJALMAR ZAHL.

Witnesses:

CHARLES S. OLsoN, J. M. HALL. 

